ABC Picks Up Game Show Set on Skyscraper

Everyone loves a good game show. Fans enjoy the spectacle of real people playing a game with the chance to win enough money to change their life, while networks enjoy the low-production costs that make those prizes cheaper than filming a scripted series. It's a win-win for everyone, except, of course, when the players lose. The only trick in a genre as old as the game show is to come up with a fresh new idea.

Or, you could just play the game on top of a big building.

Yes, according to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC has given the greenlight to 'Downfall,' a game show in which contestants vying for cash must complete tasks to prevent their winnings from falling off the side of a building. Just as 'Speed' was pitched to studios as 'Die Hard' on a bus, in Hollywood terms, 'Downfall' is 'Jeopardy' on a building.Everyone loves a good game show. Fans enjoy the spectacle of real people playing a game with the chance to win enough money to change their life, while networks enjoy the low-production costs that make those prizes cheaper than filming a scripted series. It's a win-win for everyone, except, of course, when the players lose. The only trick in a genre as old as the game show is to come up with a fresh new idea.

Or, you could just play the game on top of a big building.

Yes, according to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC has given the greenlight to 'Downfall,' a game show in which contestants vying for cash must complete tasks to prevent their winnings from falling off the side of a building. Just as 'Speed' was pitched to studios as 'Die Hard' on a bus, in Hollywood terms, 'Downfall' is 'Jeopardy' on a building.

Or 'Wheel of Fortune' on a building. Or maybe 'Fear Factor' on a building. Actually, the details are a bit sketchy in terms of what contestants will actually be doing, but one thing's for sure: They will be on top of a big building when they do it.

Executive producer Scott St. John explains: "'Downfall' is a new, hybrid, high-stakes field game show where fearless contestants have to fight and focus hard to keep their winnings from falling off the side of a building," St. John said.

If that sounds like the best thing to come along since 'Minute To Win It' began showcasing average Americans unspooling rolls of toilet paper in a desperate attempt to pay for their mortgage, then you're in luck. And it's not the only high-concept series ABC is lining up for this summer. Its also developing shows about extreme weight loss and ice dancing, which we personally hope will be combined into one mind-blowing hour of entertainment called 'From Cows to Salchows.'